


Upendo

by tubofskippy



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Ace!Arnold, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Tumblr Prompt, Uganda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 20:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11951904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tubofskippy/pseuds/tubofskippy
Summary: Arnold and Nabulungi share a day full of surprises.





	Upendo

**Author's Note:**

> First, I should mention that I am not Ugandan nor have I ever been to Uganda, so if I have somehow misrepresented Ugandan culture, please let me know so that I can correct my mistakes.

“What did you say this was called again?” Arnold asked, with a mouth full of something Nabulungi had given him to try after a long conversation about their favorite foods.  
“Mbwa,” she replied. Arnold tilted his head. That didn’t help him clarify what exactly he was chewing on.  
“It’s… really crunchy,” he said, not specifying whether he liked or disliked it.  
“It should be,” Naba said, “it’s fried grasshopper.” Arnold’s eyes widened. Just the thought of it made his throat close up, but he grimaced and politely forced it down.  
“You didn’t tell me I had a bug in my mouth!”  
“I didn’t think I would have to!” Nabulungi laughed, finding his repulsion to the food ridiculous. She rested her hands on her hips. “Well, you said your favorite food in America was ‘twinkie,’ what is that made of?” Arnold paused for a moment, looking perplexed.  
“I have absolutely no idea.”  
More and more often, the two had been spending their days together, away from the other elders and villagers. Nabulungi would take Arnold to her favorite spots, and Arnold would tell her his favorite stories. They’d play silly games, teach each other songs, talk for hours on end, and soon enough, they knew each other inside and out.  
“Close your eyes,” Naba said giddily, helping Arnold up a steep hill. He opened them as soon as his foot dove into rock.  
“Ow!”  
“Keep them closed!”  
“But I won’t be able to see where I’m going!”  
“I will guide you,” she said, resting one hand on his shoulder, and the other on his sweaty back. It was a baking hot day, and Nabulungi had decided to take Arnold to the most beautiful place she could think of. The two struggled up the hill, Arnold blindly running into branches and grabbing onto Naba’s face for support. It wasn’t the most romantic scenario, Naba admitted, but the whole thing made her laugh. A deep, rushing sound that shook the ground accompanied by a misty breeze gave Arnold a strong idea as to where she was leading him.  
“Can I open them now?” He said, biting his bottom lip, eager to see the gorgeous scenery and Nabulungi’s beautiful coily hair in the wind.  
“Not yet.”  
They weren’t moving anymore, and he could hear Naba’s bare feet in the grass behind him.  
“Now?”  
“Shh. Breathe in,” she said, as Arnold felt the weight lifted from the bridge of his nose.  
“Wait, why are you taking off my glasse––”  
“Now!” Arnold’s eyes shot open when a sudden and powerful shove knocked him over the ledge. In those few seconds, he took in a breathtaking view of the incredible waterfalls as he fell beside them, before hitting the cool water, making the biggest splash Naba had ever seen.  
His head burst through the surface, spitting water out with his frizzy wet curls crowding his face. Nabalungi’s laughter echoed from the top of the rocks, a bubbly, joyous laugh that Arnold couldn’t possibly stay angry at. She held out her hands and leaped into the water, as Arnold braced himself for impact. He was doused with the splash, and soon got her back with his hands, pushing spurts of water her way. They stayed there for hours, the giggling and hollering eventually turning into soft banter as the sun sank in the sky, painting the waves an enchanting shade of pink. Arnold and Nabulungi held each other close in the cavity behind the waterfall, the wall of rapids shielding them from the rest of the world.  
“Narnia, I think I want to stay here for more than just two years.”  
Later that night, the two hauled themselves onto the shore, their soaking wet clothes clinging to their bodies. As Naba rung out the bottom of her dress, Arnold got down in the grass and rolled onto his back, cradling his head in his arms.  
“I don’t want to go home just yet,” he sighed, sleepily. Naba knew that soon the wild animals would come to the river to drink, but Arnold lying in the grass with his torso untaken was too inviting.  
“Okay,” she smiled, as she dropped to his level and rested her head on his shoulder and a hand over his belly.  
“Just look at those stars, huh?” Arnold gazed into space, his eyes filled with wonder. “You don’t see stars like that every day.”  
“You don’t?”  
“Well, not in the city. There are too many other lights, they outshine the stars and make them hard to see. You see more stars on the flag than you do in the sky,” he snorted. He took his eyes off of the sky and looked into Naba’s eyes. “Everything is… so much more beautiful in Uganda.” Nabulungi smiled at him. They sat there for a few moments, gazing at each other’s faces, before Arnold turned his head and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Nabs. For all this. I uh, I think this was the best day of my life.” Nabulungi’s face lit up.  
“Really?”  
“Yeah! Wait… there was that one day I went to a con––no, no, this was better. Yes.” He gave an affirmative nod to let her know he had made up his mind.  
“Swimming under a waterfall was better than every day you’ve ever lived?” Naba snickered, her eyebrows furrowed. She was used to its magnificence.  
“Partly, but It’s because you were with me,” he said, flashing a big cheesy grin. He could tell she was flattered. The two laid there in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company, but Heavenly Father knows Arnold could not keep quiet for that long.  
“Hey, Nevada?” he said as Nabulungi rolled her eyes, knowing that he was just getting her name wrong on purpose at this point, “I… um… Well, there was something I’ve been meaning to ask you since last month, but I really didn’t know how to go about it, because I’ve been told that I’m not great with the social cues, and I didn’t know what you’d say, and my stomach feels funny whenever I think about it, but now with the stars and the waterfall and you on my shoulder and everything, I thought it might seem appropriate––”  
“Arnold, just ask me!”  
“Can I be your boyfriend?”  
Nabulungi blinked a few times. Dating was a new concept in Uganda, and Naba wasn’t quite sure of how it would change their relationship.  
“You want to be in a sexual relationship with me?” She asked, flustered. Ugandan culture discouraged pre-marital sex.  
“Huh? Not–not necessarily, no, I wasn’t thinking about that, but, if that’s what you wanted, maybe someday, but… I don’t even think I like the idea of… sex,” Arnold blurted, equally flustered. Nabulungi smiled in relief.  
“What do you mean then?”  
“Just… dating.”  
“Oh, okay. Well, what is dating like in America?” She asked, ready to listen. Arnold paused for a moment, trying to think of the answer.  
“I don’t really know. I’ve never dated an American before,” he said. “What’s dating like in Uganda?”  
“I don’t know, either,” Nabulungi said, still a bit unfamiliar with the concept. “Though, a few men have asked me to marry them.” Arnold looked shocked. “I turned them all down.” She glanced at the stars, and then back at Arnold. “If we were dating, what would change?”  
The question made Arnold think.  
“Nothing, I guess. I’d just be able to call you my girlfriend,” he said, feeling silly that he had asked in the first place.  
“Oh. Well in that case,” Naba took his hand, “I would love to be called your girlfriend.”  
“You would?”  
“Why not?”  
Arnold giggled, hugging her tight. She smiled at him, happier than she had ever been.  
“I think we should get home now. I don’t want to have to tell the village that I had to fend off hyenas because you wanted to lay in the grass and look at stars,” she joked, still finding it hard to believe that they were a rarity in the city. “Not just stars,” Arnold added, staring into her eyes again as she helped him off of the ground. He threw a soggy arm around her as they set off on their way.  
“I love you, Nowandlater.”  
“I love you too, Aardvark.”  
He could now say for sure that this was the best day of his life.


End file.
